1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inspiration model device for simulating human conception and a related method and program.
The invention also relates to a spontaneous emotion model device that is the main part of the above inspiration model device, and a related method and program.
In particular, the invention relates to a technique that is applied to the following product fields etc.:
(1) Question and answer systems that use a computer or a robot and are improved in naturalness.
(2) Idea search systems capable of reflecting sensibility as humans possess.
(3) Experimental models of a human psychological state.
(4) Game systems capable of expressing emotions and motions in a more human-like manner.
(5) Agent systems.
(6) Information search methods capable of retrieving an appropriate answer at high speed from an information source having an enormous amount of information utilizing conception (what is called intuition) by a spontaneous emotion.
2. Description of the Related Art
One conventional technique relating to the invention is “Emotion Generation Device and Emotion Generation Method” that is disclosed in Patent document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-265239). The emotion representing the internal state of a human, for example, varies in a variety of manners depending on the situation. Patent document 1 discloses a technique for realizing generation of an emotion in an unpredictable situation. More specifically, an emotion of a device itself is generated by evaluating a situation in the light of a predictable situation. Further, emotions that occurred actually in the past and associated situations are analyzed, whereby unpredictable incidental conditions specific to the respective situations and corresponding emotions are learned. If a newly input situation satisfies a learned incidental condition, the emotion corresponding to that incidental condition is output.
The present inventor disclosed “Sensibility Generation Method, Sensibility Generation Device, and Software” in Patent document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-215183). In this conventional technique, instinct parameters representing the degrees of comfort, danger, and achievement are generated as motivation information on the basis of input information such as emotion states of a dialog partner, and a fundamental emotion such as joy or anger is generated and controlled on the basis of the generated instinctive motivation information. In particular, this conventional technique succeeded in generating an emotion state that is closer to one human will have by allowing the control rules (tendency in terms of humans) of the generation and control of a fundamental emotion to reflect personalities such as reason and will.
Incidentally, the human brain is considered a big parallel processing machine consisting of a very large number of neurons. As a result, a problem solution by the brain is recognized as a check-everything-basis information search process by parallel processing.
However, realization of such a check-everything-basis information search process by a computer or the like is associated with various problems; for example, an enormous search dictionary needs to be prepared and a very long search time is necessary. Further, a check-everything-basis information search merely finds, from a search range, an average solution that satisfies prescribed search conditions and cannot output an unexpected solution (brainstorm).
The human brain has a rare ability of producing a brainstorm, which is of a different nature than the abilities of the check-everything-basis information search process.